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Title details for Gun, with Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem - Available

Gun, with Occasional Music

A Novel

by Jonathan Lethem
Nick Sullivan
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available

Gumshoe Conrad Metcalf has problems-not the least of which are the rabbit in his waiting room and the trigger-happy kangaroo on his tail. Near-future Oakland is an ominous place where evolved animals function as members of society, the police monitor citizens by their karma levels, and mind-numbing drugs such as Forgettol and Acceptol are all the rage. In this brave new world, Metcalf has been shadowing the wife of an affluent doctor, perhaps falling a little in love with her at the same time. But when the doctor turns up dead, our amiable investigator finds himself caught in the crossfire in a futuristic world that is both funny-and not so funny.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 14, 2007

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780792751496
      • File size: 249789 KB
      • Duration: 08:40:23

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      The plot of this fantasy mystery is hard to follow and harder to describe--suffice it to say that it takes place in a futuristic world where sheep act as receptionists and people who misbehave have karma points deducted (until they hit zero and then it's off to the deep freeze). The protagonist, voiced by narrator Nick Sullivan, speaks in a mangled Chandlerese ("His eyes were unclouded by intelligence") and is pursued by a gun-toting kangaroo (shades of Elwood P. Dowd). Once you get over the confusing plot, it's a wild and kooky ride. Sullivan's deadpan is dead-on, and if you listen to audiobooks in public, be aware that you may be subject to spontaneous fits of laughter. R.W.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 28, 1994
      Chandleresque, hard-boiled detective narrative finds a quirky new milieu in this SF/mystery/farce of murder and mass mind control set in a near-future Oakland, Calif. Conrad Metcalf is a private dick, but in his era that profession is even more ignominious than in the past. Due to some extreme governmental measures aimed at maintaining public docility, asking questions is taboo, leaving memory as Metcalf's sole resource. Government-distributed ``Make,'' a cocaine-like blend of synthetic, mind-altering drugs, is now de rigeur . So is the magnetic card each citizen carries to keep track of his or her karma points. These points are awarded or docked by ``the Office'' for good or bad behavior and if the balance hits zero, a cryogenic prison term may ensue. Most of the menial work is done by genetically engineered English-speaking, bipedal ``evolved'' animals--sheep, apes, rabbits and kangaroos--and one of the latter is gunning for Metcalf. In this confusing age, the murder of Dr. Maynard Stanhunt, Metcalf's former client, leads the detective to a convoluted conspiracy, unimaginable in our own time. Lethem's invocation of Chandler often wears a bit thin--the prose here is a good deal clumsier than the real thing, and this sort of imitation has already been done too often. Still this colorful first novel is a fast and lively read, full of humorous visions and outlandish predicaments.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 2, 1995
      Lethem's first novel is a work of noir science fiction inhabited by animal gangsters and a gritty futuristic P.I.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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